Population 391 (2011) Civil parish Kirby Hill Sovereign state United Kingdom Shire county North Yorkshire UK parliament constituency Skipton and Ripon | OS grid reference SE389683 Country England Local time Tuesday 4:22 PM District Borough of Harrogate | |
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Region Yorkshire and the Humber Weather 13°C, Wind W at 29 km/h, 55% Humidity | ||
Kirby Hill is a small rural village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately one mile north of the market town of Boroughbridge just east of the A1M motorway. Formerly known as Kirby-on-the-Moor, the village is surrounded by open countryside on 3 sides and affords long-range views towards the North Yorks Moors and the Yorkshire Dales.
Contents
Map of Kirby Hill, UK
History
Kirby Hill's pre-Norman origins are confirmed by the Church of All Saints, Kirby-on-the-Moor, built in 986AD and the presence in and around the Church of 12 stones with Celtic carvings, listed in Lang's Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. The large granite block at the base of the south-west corner of the church is an inscribed Roman stone.
The village is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book as Chirchbi in the Hallikeld hundred. The lands were owned by Gospatric, son of Arnketil at the time of the Norman invasion. Afterwards the lands passed to the Crown, but he remained lord of the manor on behalf of the King. The manor passed at some point to the Mowbray family and thence part of it by sale, to the Prior of Newburgh Priory. After the dissolution, the manor was granted to Nevill's of Thornton Bridge. The Nevill's sold the manor to Sir Robert Long in 1672. Eventually the manor was sold in the 19th century to the Rawson family of Nidd Hall.
The army of Sir Andreas de Harcla mustered his forces near the village prior to the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322.
There was a branch line of the North Eastern railway that ran through the parish. The line ran form Pilmoor Junction on the East Coast Main Line near Easingwold to Knaresborough via Boroughbridge. Opened in 1847, it closed in 1964.
Skelton windmill, built in 1822 and now a residential property, stands on a hill to the north-west of the village.
From 1996 to 2012, residents of Kirby Hill engaged in a sustained campaign to prevent a developer, Heather Ive Associates, from obtaining planning permission for a motorway service area on the A1M motorway some 500 yards from the village. An independent group, Kirby Hill RAMS (Residents Against Motorway Services) was formed to oppose the development. Led by their chairman, Gareth Owens, the RAMS mounted a successful case opposing the plans at two major public inquiries. On 16 October 2012, Kirby Hill RAMS secured a notable victory when the plans were formally rejected for the final time by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles.
Governance
The village lies within the Skipton and Ripon UK Parliament constituency. It is also within the Boroughbridge electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Newby ward of Harrogate Borough District Council. The local Kirby Hill & District Parish Council has nine members.
Geography
The village lies along the Great North Road, formerly designated the A1 and now re-designated as the B6265 since the A1M motorway was constructed to the west of the village. The nearest settlements are Milby 0.88 miles (1.42 km) to the south-east; Langthorpe 0.7 miles (1.1 km) to the south; Skelton-on-Ure 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the west and Marton-le-Moor 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north-west. The village lies at an elevation between 85 feet (26 m) and 131 feet (40 m) above sea level.
The 2001 UK Census recorded the population as 355, of which 294 were over the age of sixteen years and 168 of these were in employment. There were 155 dwellings of which 105 were detached. The 2011 census showed a population of 391.
Education
Kirby Hill Church of England Primary School has a brand new school building, opened in June 2002. The old school near the Vicarage was built in 1867. The school is in the catchemnt area of Boroughbridge High School for Secondary education.
Religion
The Grade I listed church of All Saints, Kirby-on-the-Moor is over 1,000 years old and was thoroughly restored in 1870. There used to be a Wesleyan chapel in the village.